JEDDAH, 23 April — With the long summer vacation approaching and thousands of young people finding themselves tempted by the idea of traveling abroad, education officials have joined hands with local businesses in developing special programs to encourage internal travel among high school students.
The objective, say the sponsors, is to spread awareness among young people of the need to discover their country by encouraging them to gain firsthand knowledge of its different regions.
Through specially arranged trips to selected locations, the students will be able to visit as many areas as possible to learn more about the potential for travel in the Kingdom.
The joint effort, known as the National Program for Tourism Awareness, involves the Ministry of Education, Samara Travel and Services and the National Commercial Bank.
Over a period of two months, as many as 15,000 students from 500 schools will be able to visit various parts of the Kingdom.
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Shiddi, deputy minister of education, Samir Kummisani, Samara executive director, and Farouk Saleh Eid, NCB public relations director, officially launched the program.
Riyadh saw the start of the first part of the program involving 30 students from various secondary schools in the region. They were taken on a tour of the city and its surrounding areas.
